The Disintegration Of The Suzerain-vassal Relationship Between China And Ryukyu In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Study On The Negotiation Over The "Ryukyu Case"

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the traditional international order in East Asia is also known as the suzerain-vassal system,which is an international order formed by suzerainty’s conferring and vassal state’s tribute.In 1879,Japan forcibly annexed Ryukyu.The Qing government and the Japanese government repeatedly negotiated a series of diplomatic disputes about the issue of Ryukyu’s sovereignty,known as the "Ryukyu case"in history.Therefore,the suzerain-vassal system was greatly impacted.The "Ryukyu case" is a dispute between China and Japan over the ownership of Ryukyu in modern times.It reflects the significant differences in diplomatic concepts between China and Japan in the early modern times.This difference in diplomacy also reflects the different reactions and choices made by China and Japan in the face of the impact of the western international system.After the 19th century,China and Japan were greatly impacted by the invasion of Western colonialism.Western international ideas began to spread to Asia.Asian countries were faced with the opportunity to change their ideas and integrate the western ideas into national society.The change of diplomatic idea was the first to bear the brunt.However,the response of China and Japan to this shock is quite different.China still takes the traditional suzerain-vassal relationship as the core to deal with the "Ryukyu case".After the Meiji Restoration,Japan began the process of diplomatic modernization while reforming its internal affairs,actively learning the theory of the western "public law of nations",and consciously integrating these new ideas into its aggressive expansion policy,so as to safeguard its own interests.The handling of the "Ryukyu case" between China and Japan reflected the great contrast of their diplomatic concepts,which also led to the passivity of the Qing government in handling the "Ryukyu case" to a certain extent.By using the negotiation of the "Ryukyu case" is placed under the perspective of the disintegration of Sino-Ryukyu suzerain-vassal relations in the late Qing Dynasty,and the process of the "Ryukyu case" is comprehensively and systematically restored.We can not only see how the Meiji government of Japan implemented the long-term strategy of annexing Ryukyu in a planned way,and then disintegrated the suzerain-vassal system in East Asia and replaced it,but also reveal that Japan,just after getting rid of the national crisis,was looking forward to entering the club of Western powers and seizing the equal interests of Western powers in China.In the diplomatic game between the Qing government and Japan for more than 20 years,the late Qing Dynasty tried its best to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of its suzerain state in spite of internal and external difficulties.However,facing the challenge of the western colonists and the Meiji government of Japan,Li Hongzhang’s strategy of domestic dissension,delaying and heroic act of Ryukyu people could not save the suzerain-vassal relationship that lasted for hundreds of years in East Asia.